The present invention relates generally to an air cleaner for an internal combustion engine and more specifically to an air cleaner housing having a filter element disposed within the housing and an air guide configured to increase the velocity and reduce the temperature of the air flowing into the engine.
Air cleaners for internal combustion engines have taken a variety of forms, such as wet filters and dry filters arranged in a wide variety of sizes and shapes. Many internal combustion engines are provided with a carburetor where the air supply for the carburetor is drawn through an air intake by suction created by the engine cylinders. In fuel injected engines, the carburetor is eliminated but the engine still requires an air supply from an air intake to support combustion.
The air intake typically draws air from some point under the hood of the vehicle. The air beneath the hood of the vehicle is usually contaminated with grit, dust and other particulate matter, which could be sucked into the air intake. The grit and particulate matter, if not removed, tends to clog the carburetor or fuel injection system and reduces engine efficiency and may even cause damage to the engine. In typical filter arrangements, a quantity of the grit and particulate matter passes with the air mixture through the filter element and into the engine cylinders acting to damage the valves and cylinder walls. The dust and grit form deposits on the cylinder walls of the combustion chamber increasing carbon built-up which causes pre-ignition, commonly known as "knocking".
All internal combustion engines provide a form of filtering in an attempt to reduce the amount of dirt, grit and dust entering the engine. One drawback of present filter arrangements is that the filter typically provides the only path through which the air flow may pass. Thus, all of the grit and dust in the air flow encounters the air filter. Some of the particulate matter passes through the filter and into the engine while most is trapped by the filter. This causes the filter to become clogged with the dirt and dust, thus decreasing the ability of the filter to trap additional dirt and dust and also decreasing the flow of air through the filter.
If the filter is not frequently changed, it becomes clogged beyond its operating capacity and engine efficiency is reduced and the engine may be damaged. Changing the filter is an annoying task and is often postponed beyond the time when required. Depending upon the type of engine, frequent changing of the air filter may be expensive.
Typical air filter housings have little impact upon the temperature of the air flow which reaches the engine. The flow of air simply enters through an aperture and passes through the air filter and into the engine. Some known filter housings provide a venturi device fixed to the housing to smooth the flow of air to reduce turbulence in the air flow in an attempt to improve engine efficiency.
Other known filter housing arrangements provide flaps, valves or shutters which attempt to modify the temperature of the air flow entering the engine. Such devices typically include sensors to monitor the temperature and also require a means to activate the flaps or valves in response to the measured temperature. These known devices are expensive and difficult to maintain.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to overcome the above problems.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a novel air cleaner housing which provides the engine with a clean source of air by reducing filter element clogging by dirt and debris.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a novel air cleaner housing that reduces the temperature of the flow of air reaching the engine to improve engine efficiency.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a novel air cleaner housing that is simple in construction and contains no moving parts.